Time Well Spent

There is an old proverb that says: Make hay while the sun shines. This advice was used by farmers during the Middle Ages who didn’t know what the next day would bring, so they had to gather in their hay while the sun was still shining. Nowadays we have weather satellites to predict the weather, and we have modern machinery that can make hay much faster.

This old proverb still has good meaning to us today. One day is not a long period of time. In 24 hours we need to cram in eating, school, practices, socializing, homework, and sleep. Day after day we are faced with things to do that take up our time. We prioritize things that we deem most important. Those things get our first attention, and everything else gets shoved aside until that gets done. Homework is important, food and sleep are essential to our health, we have to go to school, and just about every day something happens that we just have to share with other people. However, there is one daily task that gets pushed off all too often. Reading. Not just the latest sci-fi book or romance novel, but the most important read of your life. The Bible.

As a plant needs sunlight to grow, we need the Light of Jesus to grow in faith and understanding.

One of the many temptations the Devil throws at us is this: “You don’t need to read the Bible. You already know what it says: ‘From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures’, right?” Not at all! Jesus cuts right through this lie in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Not only is resisting the Devil a reason to read your Bible, but also for the reason stated in John 1:1,4-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus is the Word of God. It is through Him that we have life because it is through Him that we are forgiven. It is through Him that we are able to go to God and ask Him for help like you would go to your father for help. As a plant needs sunlight to grow, we need the Light of Jesus to grow in faith and understanding.

You never outgrow or finish understanding the Bible. This is actually a blessing, because it means no matter where we are in our lives we can always go to the Word of God and find something new to help us in our time of need. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

Now how do we fit this into our already hectic schedules? Most, if not all, of you are familiar with all the works Martin Luther did in his life. This quote has been attributed to him: “I have so much to do that if I didn’t spend at least three hours a day in prayer I would never get it all done.” We don’t have to spend three hours in prayer or reading God’s Word. The point is that when we set aside time to listen and learn from God, He will bless us and give us comfort. And what greater comfort could we ask for than the Creator of all living things to be by our side during our busy lives.

Pastor Ben Libby joins Pastor Sam Rodebaugh to study the Old Testament book of the Prophet Haggai. Haggai had the changeling task of prophesying to the people of Judah who had just come back from the exile in Babylon. He was sent with the job of taking these people to task over their attitude of apathy and […]